Beyond Conception
by Nefreia
Summary: A memory is a hard thing to forget, but when a Dunmer loses her memory of how, when, and why she got on Cyrodiil she comes face-to-face with a Daedra Knight. Is it simply coincidence, or is it about something so much more?
1. The Sirens' Guest

**Disclaimer: **Nopers. Not to say I didn't wish I did. ;p

**Summary: **A memory is a hard thing to lose; but when a Dunmer loses her memory of how, when, and why she got on Cyrodiil she comes face-to-face with a Daedra Knight. Is it simply her destiny, or is it about something so much more?

**A/N :** Yeah! It's been awhile, but I'm back from my... vacation from writing. Those of you who have read my other story, sorry but it is on hold for the while. Maybe in a bit I will continue it. So! Here's my first Oblivion fic and I thought it would be so much fun after I got the idea from the story 'Playing with Fire: Oblivion's Forbidden Law' by ChesherCatGrin. I did get her permission for the slightest of sameness, but definitely enough that you can't tell! At least I hope not, it's kinda hard to make a romance like I am without having small similarities to others of the like. Anyhoo, Begin!

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Golden eyes peered out from an ebony hood, the glow disappeared momentarilly before shining from the darkness once again. The lithe figure of a Blood Elf leaned precariously over a tree branch, surveying the night-cloaked fields before her. She donned jet black clothing of the assassin to aid in camouflaging with the night. Though, assassin she was not.

One last glance was served to the landscape before soft footsteps alighted on the ground at the base of the tree.

A cool wind tugged at her hood, causing it to fall back for only a moment to reveal dark crimson hair before it was once again pulled back securely in its place. She fluidly and silently flashed thru the brush of the forest and out across the nearly bare fields of grass. Oh, how she wished she had a mount. A stunning black beast with silky hairs and warm eyes, sharp hooves and a heightened sense speed. But, that was a soon discarded wish, for she held only a few septims to her name. Hopefully enough to buy rations from the next inn or town she came across.

Radiac; her name was... hard to describe. She belonged to no factions, and she held no feelings toward another. She was unsure of her belief in the gods and goddesses, though sometimes, in the depths of thought, she would send a word of prayer to the only goddess she could say she was partial toward. The goddess of the wind, Kynareth. She held no true concept of the gods and goddesses or for what they did to aid in her life. _If there were no gods or goddesses would there truly be just a void in the place of land and sea, _thought her,_ would there be no such things as Elves or humans or any of the beasts? Would the fairylore of Daedra and Dremora not have ever been constructed? Such is hard to believe. _

Radiac had been born in the province of Morrowind, in a cruel poverty-struck village that had hardened her senses, making her quick and strong, stealthful and agile. Though it was harsh on her, she was greatful of her childhood home, for the effect was much better than living as an ignorant highborn and being defenseless to the things that prowled upon the weak. She did not remember anything of her past, she just awoke one day in a quaint farmhouse near the Gold Coast in the province of Cyrodiil.

**Beyond Conception**

**Prologue: The Sirens' Guest**

**By: Five Sided Dice**

First was the headache, it seemed to pound through her ears and she thought lightly in wonderment why she had not awoken sooner from the loud noise.

Second came the whispers, her fragile nose picked out three women from the darkness of her closed eyes. Their voices were low, but her delicately shaped ears picked out trace words.

"Dunmer... seductive."

"Color... contrasts... others."

"Yes... eyes."

True, it was intriguing to eavesdrop on the conversation of the women, but unknowing of the situation and where she stood in it, the Dunmer let out a fake sigh and opened and closed her mouth a few times as if trying to dispel a foul taste. The women, she noted, immediately turned silent.

"So, the dark-skinned damsel finally awoke?" Radiac slowly opened her eyes, faking sudden awakeness and truthfully happy for the dim light of the room, to see the speaker being a startlingly pretty Nord. Not to say that she had thought _all _Nords to be ugly...

The dunmer blinked her fiery eyes a few times before swallowing to slicken her dry throat, then she replied weakly, "S'wit."

The Nord only blinked, slightly taken aback, though an Imperial was quick to reply with a wry smile. "So! She has bite, too. Perfect. Signy, Tsarrina, go to the basement and get her a dress. One that is a little showy."

After the two women left through a nearby door, the Imperial gave a dazzling smile and helped the Dark Elf into a sitting position. The elf wore forest green trousers and a simple dirtied tunic, her facade none in the least showing her confusion over everything that was unfolding.

"Good morn', I am Faustina Cartia." She bowed slightly before asking of the Dark Elf's name.

"Radiac," she replied simply in a bored tone.

"Oh, come now! Don't be so reserved. I know... you just need a good cleaning. I wouldn't blame your attitude if I was as grimy as you, but I do envy your natural beauty. It shines through even under the muck." The woman led her to a washbowl across the room, handing her a cloth and leaving her to the task as she went to the basement to check up on her sisters in crime.

_This Dunmer, she is quite unordinary. Her eyes are exotic to say the least for her species. She would be perfect in this business... although, I can sense something strong within her. I have an unnerving feeling that she won't be staying for long..., _the Spellsword reminisced before stopping infront of the two women who were bowed over a small armoire picking thru the linens.

"Oh, this one would look striking on the Elf. The navy would collide against the ash-grey of her skin and the gold trim would shine with the same strangeness of her eyes." The Nord, Signy Home-Wrecker, fawned over the clothing before standing to flash it infront of her peer's eyes.

"Oi, it wouldn't look half bad on the little wench," the aggressive Khajiit complimented half-heartedly.

"Yes, but before I take it to her... Well, nevermind."

The Nord and Khajiit glanced over at the Spellsword, silently urging her on.

"Hmm. I suspect she won't go along with our plans, I believe we might should cater to her, then allow her to take her leave. No questions asked, no secrets slipped."

The two thieves glanced at one another, before nodding in silent agreement toward their superior. They didn't have to question Faustina, she always seemed to have a secret knowledge of these things.

**o0OoO0o+o0OoO0o**

Radiac slowly dipped the cloth into the bowl and glanced at her reflection in the cracked mirror, though her eyes were unseeing as she rubbed her face clean.

_I'm leaving as soon as they allow me. That's all there is. All I have left are a few flashbacks and memories, yet I don't remember how I cam to be here. Why am I here?_ She struggled to grasp the most recent memory her mind revealed to her. _I was on a ship? Bound for... ... Cyrodiil. Yes, that's it. So, I must be in Cyrodiil, but Cyrodiil has few main waterways connecting to the ocean and neither are near Morrowind._ Once again training her mind's eye to view a map she finally recovered a brief image of a map of Cyrodiil, though it was partially torn and left much to be desired. _That leaves Anvil, but I feel as if there is yet another city near the ocean._ She sighed with exasperation.

The only choice left was to hint to Faustina Cartia about something that might bring up the name of the city.

She brewed over this as she finished swiping the rag over her arms. She heard quiet footsteps at the basement door, then it opened with only slight hesitation. Radiac dropped the rag beside the bowl and turned her burning gaze to the three women who passed thru the doorway. For a faint moment, she felt a sense of being cornered, then it disintegrated as if it never occurred.

"Here, Radiac." The Imperial passed the younger girl the amber and blue dress. "You may keep it, for we have too many dresses as it is."

Radiac nodded allowing any 'thank you's the women could have expected to slip away. She would not appreciate the good will of others such as themselves. Though she was gracious for their kindness, she could smell the deceit in their scents and she caught the untrustful glances the Khajiit and Nord tried to suppress. It bothered her none, for she felt just as untrusting towards them.

After the women gave her quick privacy to change, then all was ready for her departure, the three walked Radiac to the door with smiles.

"How far is the city from here?" The Dunmer slipped in nonchalantly as she stood in the doorway of the cottage. She felt an open breeze thru the thin silk of her dress and almost smiled in delight. It seemed like it had been forever since the last time she had felt the breeze and seen the green trees of a forest.

"Ahh... It doesn't lie too far from here. Just follow that path and in about an half hour you will run across a fork that leads you to either Anvil or Kvatch."

Radiac nodded her head to them, giving it a slight tilt to the side that she tried labeling as the closest thing to a bow she would allow.

"Come visit us again at the Gweden Farm any time," said Faustina, _I doubt we will ever see her again._

"Fetcher," replied Radiac with the faintest of smiles before she turned away and followed the dirt path mentioned, _I hope I will never see them again._

After some time of walking, the Dunmer found herself at a more formal road; the white, paved cobblestones shone against the green grass vividly; and said fork. She gave each direction a quick glance. The left sign read 'Anvil' while the right read both 'Kvatch' and 'Imperial City'. She surveyed her attire and gave a slight grimace toward the clothing she had allowed them to her dress in. Immediately she wished she had kept her other clothing, though they were almost too worn for wear. _I will get new clothes!_

Radiac lifted her head high, a determined gleam flashed in her sizzling, exotic gaze. She subconsciously licked her lips and turned down the path that further endowed her destiny.

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**A/N :** Oh, the cliffy! Nah, not really... Well, maybe... So, if ya really love me, or like me a little, or maybe even like my story a bit I will give you an awesome sure-fire step-by-step way to show your love! (Or itty-bitty amount of like) 

**1)** Continue reading my story

**2)** Leave me a review

**3)** Leave me a consctructive review!

Yep, I toldya it was awesome. ;p

Now, here's where you go if you're on step number(s) 2 and/or 3:

**I**

**I**

**I**

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	2. Unbidden Rain

**A/N :** Yo! Sorry it's taken so long for this to be up, but I just couldn't figure out how I wanted to portray Kvatch. I mean, it's not like you get a big description of it in the game. -cough- It's kinda destroyed and all...

In response to a reviewer pointing out that she didn't ask many(any) questions about how she got there... Well, I guess you could call it pride or untrustfullness, whichever you prefer in the given situation. Seriously, picture yourself in the given scenario and just see how many questions you ask. Okay... you may ask a lot. In example, this is an independant child who'd much rather play the game BEFORE reading the manual. (I do that...)

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**Beyond Conception**

**II: Unbidden Rain**

**Five Sided Dice**

She had, by now, grimaced more than a few times over the uncomfortable clothing she wore. Seriously, no female with common sense should wear something like this. It just was not suitable for the lifestyle she had. Albeit the dress was flashy and more lady-like than what she preferred, it still had said disadvantages.

When she finally found the path that would take her up the zig-zagged incline, she had had just about as much as she could take with the unforgiving clothes. She glared up the slope, then looked to her feet. The doe skin had all but given up on her. Sure her feet weren't the most delicate of things, but constant walking on a cobblestone path, and the forest once to relieve herself, did not help much when the shoes worn were as thin as the softest of deer hides. _Maybe I should have gone to Anvil. Or at least stopped there before going here so I could get some profit off this thing; maybe then I could buy some leather armour._

She dismissed her complaints and started the long, uncomfortable trek up the incline.

After almost another half hour of travel she found herself at the gates of the mighty Kvatch. She noticed a guard on either side of the entrance and nodded in recognition. She was about to sincerely open the doors herself when the guards strutted up to the doors and moved infront of her to push them open. Mentally sighing to herself, Radiac waited for the men to accomplish their task so she could hurry inside and find a new change of clothes. As the guards moved aside, she threw them both a glare of inferno, then disappeared thru the doors before they shut behind her snugly.

A tall stone statue of someone she couldn't quite make out met her upon entering. Just beyond that stood the tall structure of the Kvatch's Chapel of the Nine. She slowly passed by the statue and stepped closer to the chapel that had captured her eyes in awe. She had never seen such a brilliant structure and it seemed to glow in conceit as if the building new of its own beauty.

She, then, noticed an Imperial gently closing one of the grand chapel doors before walking down the stone steps. She caught him just as he brinked the cobbelstoned street, his bowed head looked up in confusion. His eyes flickering only a moment over the briefly dusty, yet still ornate clothing before catching the gold of her gaze.

"Greetings. Do you seek council of this priest?"

"Yes. I believe... I do." She hesitantly nodded her 'bow' and awaited his reaction.

The older man's gaze intensified on the Dunmer, but it held a certain joy toward all life that seemed to look as if the man could never truly wear a scornful expression.

"I was just on my way to the tavern. If you'd like you may accompany me and share your unease there?"

Radiac gave another cautious nod and followed behind the man as he meandered along the road.

"May I ask of your calling, Dunmer?"

"Radiac," put simply and to the point. She hoped the tavern wasn't too far off, for the priest had a specific way of walking quite too slowly for her tastes.

**o0OoO0o+o0OoO0o**

If she had known it would have taken their little party as long as it did to cover the distance it did, she would have humored the idea of throwing the old man over her shoulder and sprinting halfway across the city to the tavern. Since the past had certainly come to pass, she let it be and focused on more present-like matters.

They had arrived by the faint pink of dusk at a pub with--fates allowed it to be--an inn as the second story. She inwardly smiled as she produced a few gold pieces from the quaint bag at her hip and began eating the food before her. Across the circular table she noticed the old priest was taking slow bites of a sweet roll and sipping at a tankard of water.

"So, I suppose I should start somewhere." Confusion had become the main addition to her thoughts since earlier that morning. It was hard enough to remember her old home, but trying to remember how she got where she was? Impossible. She had thought the obvious possibilities of being drugged and taken captive, or maybe thrown overboard if she were travelling by ship and got knocked over the head hard enough to loosen her memories. But, none of them answered all of the questions that pressed at the base of her skull. How did she get at the farmhouse? How did she get on Cyrodiil? How did she leave Morrowind? And, of course, why, why, why!?

None of it made sense in her opinion, but then again how much of the world actually did make sense? A very small percentage of it; only base instincts and needs. Eat, sleep, breathe, relieve oneself. Repeat.

"I woke up this morning in a farmhouse near Anvil. I didn't and I still don't know how I got there. The last I remember is being in Morrowind, but the memories seem to be of me when I was still young. And none of it makes sense." She told him of all she remembered and he told her the basics of the land of Cyrodiil. He voiced his hypothesis of the fates placing her in the province for a reason, though the reason was unknown to him. They continued in this manner until it was late on in the night and both had tired of the conversation. They had gone over every possibility they could think of, and come to conclude that it was best for her to just stay for as long as she deemed necessary and maybe she'd find more information by the time she made her next plausable move.

She thanked the old priest and waved him off as he set back out for the chapel. Radiac bought a room in the inn for the night and had immediately gone up the stairs and to her room. As quick as she hit the bed and shut out the candlelit room from her sight, she was asleep.

Maybe morning would be more fruitful in discovery of her destiny.

Of course, fate had a way of screwing with the way things _could _have gone and _should_ have gone.

Outside, a rain had begun to blanket the earth with a cold sheet. The darkness was undisturbed beyond the natural occurence, that is until an unnatural fiery orb flashed to life infront of Kvatch's main gates. It seemed to appear from the mere matter of nothingness as an oval mirror of magma. It flared as fire and blackened spikes grew upon it like vines, and the daedric thing shuddered and turned in upon itself. An ebony and crimson bone-clad figure stepped languidly thru the portal. Thereby signaling the opening of the Oblivion gate.

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**A/N :** Yes, I know, quite the obvious huh? Actually I was thinking of making her go to Anvil to try and find clues about the mystery of her getting in Cyrodiil, and she would some reason get on a ship called 'The Resting Mongoose' and then when she had fallen asleep as the ship was at sea it would get attacked by Daedra! (Oh, the tragedy!) But... a few things stopped me. 1) I couldn't figure out how I would fit the story together under that storyline. 2) How in the world would the Daedra get on the ship? and 3) WHY would the Daedra want to get on the ship? They're not pirates.

It all just seemed too impossible so I decided to go with the more expected and believable of the two cities.

Hope ya liked it and I also hope you feel the overbearing need to REVIEW. Yeah, I know the feeling. This story just might get that rise out of ya! Or not. We'll see.


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